Catholic Church In Georgia (U.S. State)

The Catholic Church in Georgia, since the 11th-century East–West Schism, has been composed mainly of Latin Church Catholics; a very large community of the Armenian Catholic Church has existed in Georgia since the 18th century.

A small Georgian Greek Catholic community has existed for a number of centuries, though has never constituted an autonomous ''sui iuris'' Church. Outside Georgia, a small parish has long existed in Istanbul, centered on Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Istanbul, founded in 1861. This was never established as a recognized particular church of any level (exarchate, ordinariate, etc.), within the communion of Catholic Churches, and accordingly has never appeared in the list of Eastern Catholic Churches published in the '' Annuario Pontificio''.

History

Christianity in Georgia began in earnest with the evangelization by Saint Nino in the 4th century. Georgian Orthodox Christianity then developed in the Byzantine Orthodox tradition, although contact with Rome did occur. The East–West Schism did not immediately sever communion between Georgia and the Holy See, although the break was recognized by the mid-13th century.

Around this time, Catholic missionaries became active in Georgia, setting up small Latin communities. A Latin Church diocese was established at Tbilisi in 1329, but this was allowed to lapse after the appointment of the fourteenth and last of its line of bishops in 1507, owing to few numbers of Catholics.

In 1626, the Theatine and Capuchin orders established new missions in Georgia. In the following centuries a community of Latin Catholics began to form, members of this community commonly being referred to as "French", which was the dominant nationality of the missionaries. Both orders were expelled by Tsar Nicholas I in 1845.

However, an agreement between Pope Pius IX and Tsar Nicholas I in 1848 permitted the establishment of the Latin Diocese of Tiraspol. This was based in Russia, but all Transcaucasian Catholics, including ethnic Georgians, were aggregated to it. The Russian part of that diocese is now called Saint Clement in Saratov.

Towards the end of the 19th century, some Georgian Catholics wished to use the Byzantine Rite in Old Georgian, but were thwarted by the outlawing of Byzantine " Uniate" groups. Accordingly, since the tsars forbade their Catholic subjects to use the Byzantine Rite–and the Holy See did not promote its use among the Georgians–some clergy and laity adopted the Armenian Rite..

At Istanbul in 1861, ethnic Georgian and former Mekhitarist priest Fr. Peter Kharischirashvili founded the first two religious congregations of the Georgian Greek Catholic Church; the Servites of the Immaculate Conception, one for men and the other for women. They served Georgian Catholics living in the Ottoman Empire and elsewhere in the Georgian diaspora, like at Montaubon

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